Stand Strong in the Word
Stand Strong in the Word is a weekly bible study that teaches through the Bible verse by verse in chronological order. For more information, visit www.standstrongministries.org.
Stand Strong in the Word
#290 "Spiritual Warfare: The Battle to Take Every Thought Captive" Part 3 (2 Corinthians 10:5-6)
Have you ever had a thought pop into your head that just felt… off? Perhaps a doubt, a fear, or even a lie that contradicts what God says about you? Today, we’re diving into the true meaning of taking every thought captive to obey Christ. We will explore spiritual attacks, how the enemy spreads deception, and—most importantly—how we can stand firm in truth.
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Have you ever had a thought pop into your head that just fell off, maybe a doubt, a fear or even a lie that goes against what God says about you? Well, today we're diving into what it really means to take every thought captive to obey Christ. We're going to unpack spiritual attacks, how the enemy spreads deception but, most importantly, how you can stand strong in his truth. So grab your Bible, turn to 2 Corinthians 10, and let's get into it. Well, hey there, my friends, Welcome to Stand Strong in the Word podcast. Jason Heman is with you guys, as always. Blessed to be with you guys as we continue our study here in 2 Corinthians 10, where we're part three, dealing with spiritual warfare. Specifically, we'll be looking at verses five and six on this episode. Now, if you've missed any previous podcasts, I encourage you guys to check those things out and do us a huge favor, which I would greatly appreciate it Leave us a review, share it with your friends, and also check out stanstrongministriesorg, where we have articles, my YouTube channel. We post videos there. I'd love for you guys to check that out. Also, subscribe Stand Strong with Jason Jimenez and also books that we have written through the years, and one in particular that I want to highlight on today's episode is Standing Strong in your Faith, and we have several chapters that walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, overcoming fear, how to study the Bible, how to grow in the Bible. So there are practical tools to help you guys. That's going to really speak into what we're going to be discussing today.
Speaker 1:So, having said all that, to bring you guys up to speed, let me jump back into verse one, and then we're going to be highlighting verses five and six. So the title is Spiritual Warfare the battle to take every thought captive. I, paul, myself, entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold towards you when I'm away, I beg of you that when I am present, I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. Now I do want to draw your attention real quickly before I read verse 5 and 6, because this is joined together.
Speaker 1:This word strongholds, remember it's a military term portraying a fortified city or palace, and so he is showing a defense. And when we bring every thought into captivity that we're going to be discussing today in spiritual warfare, there are strongholds, my friends, that you and I are facing, strongholds, my friends, that you and I are facing Now. Some of us have similar strongholds and have demonic activity that are connected or a result of it. Not every time, but that's what we're going to be talking specifically about how Satan engineers strongholds, deceptions, ways to draw us into his kingdom, to be in bondage. So when he says here in verse five, we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.
Speaker 1:So Paul draws parallels from the siege process and ancient warfare to illustrate the approach we should adopt when confronting demonic warfare. Number one is to dismantle these strongholds. Remember these strongholds as a fortified city, and I gave you guys imagery that I'm speculating, but in Paul's time there were these crumbling walls of Acrocorinth that were set against the hills of Corinth. So, depending on what part of the city you were in, you can visualize, you can see from a distance these ruins of Acrocorinth and I believe that served as a backdrop, a way for Paul to illustrate, as he oftentimes did, where he would pull from their current situation, or contextualizing things, not just using hyperbole or not just using metaphors, which he's using, a metaphor of military service. This is the same type of language as used to describe actual warfare, actual battle in the world, and he's applying that to the spiritual realm. You know, you can see in second Kings, with Elisha, with his servant. He says open his eyes and he sees the armies of the Lord. We see at times when there's battles against Israel, that God would send an angel, a warrior. We see that even in the end times. So there's oftentimes, beyond even what we're able to number, of angels who are engaging in a part of the warfare that we are actually seeing physically unfolding, so like right now as I'm recording this, and there's always, sadly, some type of warfare or genocide that's being committed around the world, but right now you have Russia and Ukraine are at war with each other. There's always, sadly, some type of warfare or genocide that's being committed around the world, but right now you have Russia and Ukraine are at war with each other, and even though people are trying to advance a right, a religious right, to take back what he thinks belongs to Russia.
Speaker 1:So when Paul talks about destroying these arguments now, now he's getting into specifics of what through the divine power that God gives us to destroy strongholds. Now let me just say that when we say that we have divine power, that's not something in and of ourselves, this is not something that we tap into like a spiritual thing, by seance, by doing mantras, by meditating. There's not this inner strength that we have within ourselves. The divine power to destroy strongholds, if you see it in the context and throughout the entirety of Scripture, comes from Jesus Christ. So the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, we are not depending on anything or any source outside of God, but the power that we have, this divine power, that's our weapon, which is a weapon because, as for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power. So we, as Christians, because we are sanctified, we've been justified by faith, we have the power of the Holy Spirit, we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, we have God's word, which is a sword of the spirit. This divine power that our weapons have can defeat anything that Satan puts in front of us, not in our own strength, but in the strength and the might and the power that God gives us.
Speaker 1:So this confronting demonic warfare, we see that it dismantles these strongholds. Okay, so it completely eradicates them, the ability to capture the enemy, because, again, this is the type of siege process that Paul is laying out here in verses five and six. The type of siege process that Paul is laying out here in verses five and six and three, to enforce laws and punishments to prevent an uprising. So we have all of these siege processes where you defeat the enemy, you capture the enemy and you then enforce laws to prevent an uprising. And if you think of the context of the Greco-Roman world, we see that cities, again, throughout, even still to this day, we have borders right, that is, to fortify your community with walls. There's boundaries and similar to these structures, paul's opponents build barriers of arguments or pretensions or rationalizations against the Christian message, against the gospel, and so what he's doing here is he's highlighting this conflict of the mind on a more spiritual level.
Speaker 1:So we destroy arguments that are presented in opposition to the gospel. So now, obviously, my full-time job is a Christian apologist but I'm more pastoral in heart in my calling and my giftedness. But I'm blessed to run a ministry, as you guys know, stand Strong Ministries, where we lock arms with local churches, other outlets, other ministries. We publish a lot of content, we help people know what they believe and why they believe it. We want to help Christians stand strong in their faith with wise thinking and bold living. And so often what I do in my presentations and in my literature is to show you guys, these arguments that oppose God so literally.
Speaker 1:This phrase destroy arguments is like casting down. The Greek term here is logos, moios. It means a false and imaginative argument or opinion or thought or convictions against Christianity. So notice several of the words that are used to unpack this word destroying arguments or casting down falsehoods, imaginative arguments that again are not conducive to what we know to be true. They don't align to facts or evidence, or people who just give their opinions, or they just giving their thoughts or what they believe in their quote convictions to be true, but they run contrary to Christianity.
Speaker 1:In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 19,. Paul refers these arguments. He says this their wisdom of this world, literally their folly with God. And we see that all the way back in 1 Corinthians 1, that God does raise up people. The foolishness of this world to shame the wise. Foolishness of this world to shame the wise. So we know, my friends, and maybe this is part of your story you believed that you had the truth, that you were the purveyor of truth, that you looked within yourself, or as an atheist, that you didn't believe there was any evidence for God, that we were left to our own devices and we just have to assemble together as the majority. We were left to our own devices and we just have to assemble together as the majority. And with social convention, we just have to make this. You know sense and an evolutionary process, what altruistic behavior looks like, what moral behavior looks like, that there is no life after death. So we make the best choices, morally speaking, for the betterment of society, to feel good about ourselves and to advance technologies, you know, through science and other means. But then you come to realize the truth that God is real, that you're made in his image, and so you destroy these falsehoods that you once believed. I'll never forget.
Speaker 1:When I was a young youth pastor in Arizona, there was a great guy that we just hit it off and at the time his daughter was just coming to church and he was married to a Jew and she wasn't a practicing Jew but he was raised in an atheistic background and I think he came somewhere from the North or whatever. But he landed having like two major PhDs, well-published, highly regarded, and I don't remember all the details now, but he fell upon some literature that was looking at the evidence for God's existence and he dealt with a lot of forensic stuff and a lot of psychology like deep levels, and he was overseeing important cases, I guess, with trials and stuff like that. And and once he started to question even his atheism and looking at proof for God's existence, he was inclined to go deeper and then that led him down the path of looking at different religions and then looking at the claims of Christ and then ultimately he gave his life to Jesus. And so when he came into my life at the church I was pastoring at with his young daughter, they were completely like novices in the faith, particularly his daughter obviously, and I just remember how many times my friend would tell me the struggle for him was that if he realized that the arguments that he had been making all these years was foolish and they weren't actually true, even though you know he debated back then what, what is truth? Right, because at the time he believed it. Just to be relative, it's just his personal preference. It just really caused him to be depressed, which then led to humility and brokenness and realizing I am a sinner that Jesus Christ is God that came into this world and it just was a powerful transformation.
Speaker 1:And hearing his testimony, and that's a prime example of an individual who then, through Christ and God's help, was destroying these arguments and no longer being led astray by what Satan was doing in his life, because there was other issues that he had brought up over time that you know we were praying against the demonic in his life. So destroying arguments here is casting them down, dealing with all these imaginative arguments, all these opinions or thoughts against Christianity. So we are called, my friends, to do that and notice, not just to destroy arguments, these falsehoods, but every lofty opinion or the Greek word here that's used, that's rendered in English as pretension. It literally captures the heights or the mobile towers that were used back in that time to scale over fortified walls. So it's speaking of this pride or this arrogance that goes forth these opinions of quote man who attempt to exalt themselves above the truth of God.
Speaker 1:The New King James Version Study Bible says this quote overlooking ancient Corinth was a hill 1,800 feet high. On top of it was a fortress. Paul used that imagery as an illustration of the spiritual warfare he waged. He destroyed strongholds, cast down towers and took captives, so that's the phraseologist used here. So remember, we talked about strongholds, the fortified cities, and then this lofty opinion is casting down these towers, these mobile towers that they would use.
Speaker 1:And that's what Satan does. Remember, he's always finding ways to mobilize, if you will, his forces to scale over the barriers that we put in place. So he's finding loopholes, he's finding weaknesses, if you will, you guys, in our fortified walls, in the protection that we have. And so one way that he can get to us is through pride, through arrogance, and we start speaking these thoughts and I want to be heard and I want to be right, and I want to argue against people and show them that I need to have the last word and I know better than them. So these fortresses or these towers and captives represent the arguments, the thoughts and the plans that Paul was opposing.
Speaker 1:Paul cast down all rationalizations. He took captive to the obedience of Christ every perception and intention of the heart that was against God. So anything and everything that opposes God its roots okay, is demonic. That does not mean that every time you oppose the truth of God again that originated from Satan through pride, through his own arrogance and trying to rewrite what God had created. And so oftentimes when you say I don't want to do that, I don't want to listen to God, I want to do whatever I want to do, those are lofty opinions that are attempting to try to break in right, to counter, to oppose, to defeat you as a Christian.
Speaker 1:Because, notice, he's talking to Christian audiences and so he's exposing, through using military words, through this siege process, that we are in this battle and the enemy that we oppose, that is Satan and his minions. They have these abilities, these arguments and these opinions that are attempting to try to get to us. So this imagery depicts God's enemies actively trying to exclude God and his truth. That's what you and I are up against. So I don't know what that looks like in your life right now, but even if you need to pause and pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal his truth, to give you discernment, but I'm pretty sure you guys are all awesome and wise individuals that listen to this podcast. You immediately are thinking about things that are happening in your life and saying, yeah, that's the enemy, and I rebuke that Because, christians, we're urged to confront these false teachings and we're actively to strive in our efforts to dismantle strongholds.
Speaker 1:Oftentimes, when I counsel with people in my travels, you will find out that if something has affected them, if it's been a stronghold, you're talking maybe in some cases generationally that the enemy has used to try to destroy the family. Of course you think of infidelity, think of drugs, think of alcohol or somebody breaking the generational curse in new spirituality or in Mormonism. I was just listening to a testimony of somebody who got out of Mormonism. They knew when they were younger that this was a cult, that it was wrong, but they knew how to get out of it and they're trying to avoid being brainwashed in the buy-in just because they're told to believe certain things. And so this concept that Paul's talking about to take every thought captive to obey Christ this is an important thing that we now need to look at in our particular lives right now. But before I do dissect that, I do think it's important when we're talking about these strongholds and we're talking about these lofty opinions, these pretensions, these things that try to jump over or try to break in. If you will, you have to understand, my friends, the hierarchy of demonic forces that are out there.
Speaker 1:There's a great book that I recommend, mark Bubeck. It was a book he wrote years back called the Adversary, the Christian Versus Demonic Activity, and in that he actually pictures, going back to Ephesians 6, that Paul's still Applying here in 2 Kings 10,. So later in Ephesians he'll pick up from this imagery that he lays out for the Corinthians and Paul does use this command structure that prevails in a military organization. And, my friends, the reason why I'm stressing this is because when we're talking about spiritual warfare, when we're talking about every thought that's captive to obey Christ, that's the battle. When we're talking about every thought that's captive to obey Christ, that's the battle.
Speaker 1:Satan wants us to surrender to his wishes and ultimately, even though we don't consciously say, oh, I'm obeying Satan, because immediately, no, I'm not a Satan worshiper. But when you and I give into the flesh, when we're living in the world, when we start compromising and we start saying, well, you know, maybe the Bible doesn't really mean this. We are handing ourselves over, we are opening ourselves, if you will, to the ways of Satan. And so, even though that may not lead someone specifically into Satanism, we still have to understand what is happening here, that people are involving themselves, whether they are fully aware of it or not, and see that's the whole thing, because that's where deception comes in. You believe that it's not as harmful, you don't believe it's as bad, when in fact it is.
Speaker 1:But this command structure that he's talking about in this military organization, if you go back to Ephesians 3.10, he talks about these rulers and authorities. When you talk about Ephesians 4.10, when he's talking about the ascended he ascended far above all the heavens. When you look at Colossians 1, verse 16, and he says that there are thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities, but all these things were created through Christ and for Christ, whether visible or invisible. So again, you have the physical and you have the spiritual realm, whether visible or invisible. So again, you have the physical and you have the spiritual realm.
Speaker 1:So these principalities, these rulers that he talks about in Ephesians 6, these are the organizational, the hierarchy, if you will, in Satan's kingdom that pursue with their efforts to oppose God by bringing out arguments or lofty opinions or different religions in order to counter or to order to lead people astray. They're religious, so they want to get them in a different religion other than Christianity arguments. And when we are bringing down every or casting on every opinion that raises itself against the knowledge of God, we have to ensure, my friends, that we are in the mighty power of God, that we're walking in the mighty power of God. We know that it was God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We're told in Ephesians, chapter one, verse 20 and 21, that Christ is now seated at the right hand side of the Father in the heavenly places, and it says that he's far above every ruler. That word is arche, which is the same term that Paul uses later in Ephesians 6 when he talks about evil rulers of the unseen world. It's like the beginning stages of these type of demonic minions that Christ is also above authority.
Speaker 1:Echosea is another term that he uses in Ephesians, chapter six. But he also says in power and dominions is dynamis and kairos. So there is no authority, there is no dominion, there is no power that is greater than Christ. So when you and I are dealing with spiritual warfare when we are bringing every thought to the captivity, to obedience of Christ, when we're not surrendering to Satan in his will and his ways, but we are surrendering to Christ. We know that he is more powerful than anything in the world. Satan, my friends, does not have the power to defeat God. He is a created being who fell from his original state and he is referred to as a defeated foe, and Colossians 1.16 reminds us. For by him, that is, by Jesus, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. So this first layer of attack, this beginning or commencing of what spiritual warfare looks like, is that this love of these evil rulers who have this dominion to go after people and their mighty beings.
Speaker 1:The Bible also refers to it as principality. That's a different translation that's used. It's used six times in the writings of Paul and it references a supernatural power having some particular role in controlling the destiny and activities of human beings. Another layer that we see in the hierarchy are authorities or powers that's the Greek word ekkoseia which are demons who oppose the purposes of God. So they are constantly trying to perform actions that will hinder you and me, that will hinder people from giving their lives over to Christ. You also have cosmic powers, or these world rulers over the dark world. Now, this is an interesting term that Paul uses, going back to Ephesians 6, verse 12. It's kosmokroteros. These are world powers, these are rules of darkness, these are evil spirits the Greek term is nomatica that advance, depravity, abomination.
Speaker 1:So when you're looking through the course of time and you're seeing, like mentioning of Artemis and Serapis and all this Greek mythology, all these different types of gods and goddesses and idols, those are demonic, whether it's pursuing the lustful gain of power or sexual pleasures, or self-worship or materialism. That's Cosmo Croteros, that is this darkness that permeates the world. When you see, like you know, stories about P Diddy and all these famous artists, people, these powerful celebrities and musicians, and you kind of peel back their private life and seeing how they're human trafficking people and Jeffrey Epstein, all accounts of guys, that's demonic. There are demons that people give themselves over to, whether they are fully aware of it or not. But this is the activity of certain types of demons to get people to cheat on their spouses, to, to just give over to their lustful desires, lgbt stuff, whatever the case may be, idolatry and this education that we're seeing. When you're seeing an institution, when you're seeing city councils and they're perpetrating a form of indoctrination, that is Cosmo Croteros. When you're studying things about Mormonism or Islam, that is Cosmo Croteros.
Speaker 1:There are specific doctrines of demons that exist to lead people astray, and our job as Christians are to not just destroy these arguments, these things, these lofty things that try to go against God's truth, but we are to obliterate these heights, these mobile towers that are maneuvering around the world, and we are to call them out. We're not to fall prey to them. We're to speak the truth and to do it in love and making sure that we're holding every now, every thought captive, as we do that, because here's a sad reality when I've seen people bring reason and their study relentlessly and then, over time, you know, as a refuting all these atheistic philosophers. They lose love for christ and for others because they get so technical, they get so logical that they don't really have this fondness or this affection for christ. Or they can do that. They can argue against the best and refute all of these lofty things that try to oppose God, and yet they're living a double life? I can't tell you.
Speaker 1:Sadly, one comes to mind Ravi Zacharias, which some of you guys know, years ago, before we knew what he was doing, living a double life. He endorsed the ministry that I founded in 2012 through my friendship and mentorship of Dr Norman Geisler and man, that was like one of the greatest days of my life. I spent half the day with him in his office outside of Atlanta, georgia, and years later come to find out. Of course, I saw him many other times in my travels with dr geyser, certain events, and we had some private downtime with ravi. And then you find out that for decades, with all the reporting that came out in investigation, even a lot of the ministry heads sarah his oldest being the head of the ministry even handed over a lot of private material that her father had owned you know, devices, files, et cetera, his computer and even diving through all that stuff, they found a lot of sick, twisted stuff that he had on his devices, what he was doing to women. So there's hard evidence that says that this man was living a double life.
Speaker 1:And again, you can look at a guy like Ravi and see his debates and see his ability to articulate winsomely in a way that a lot of people could not do, even still to this day. And yet he didn't take every thought captive to obey Christ, even though, when his thought process to refute atheism was so sound or Hinduism, he was not able to hold every thought captive to obey Christ in his life, in his loyalty to not only God but to his marriage and family in ministry. So this, my friends, is so important as I close today is that here Paul is using this battle language again, and what he's trying to convey that within our own minds rages a conflict. So let's set aside now these strongholds and these lofty opinions. So set aside the isms and all the world religions, the Cosmo Croteros, the doctrines of demons, and now let's also focus on a conflict, a spiritual battle that oftentimes rages in our own minds. We, as Christians, are told to renew our minds. We are empowered by Christ and we can take our thoughts, these lies.
Speaker 1:I had one recently of just this doubt or this fear about my family and I had to say right away Lord, I trust you and I rebuke Satan and I pray that if there's any vulnerability right now in my mind, I surrender it to you and I want to worship you and I hold fast to your word. Again, stand strong in your word to defeat any lies or doubts that attempt to break down the defenses that I have as a follower of Jesus Christ and my friends as we live. Notice, in obedience to Christ. That's the key. It's not just having some type of strategy to say, okay, when this happens, if I have this doubt, I need to do this. Those are great techniques, but notice, it's about obeying Christ. Techniques, but notice, it's about obeying Christ. It's about making sure that my thought process aligns with the way that I live and what I believe, and it's about obeying Christ.
Speaker 1:I am a bondservant of Jesus Christ, you are a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and we must prevent any idea from turning into a plot that is designed to disrupt our faith, which is why Paul says that we're ready to punish every disobedience. Remember I was telling you about the siege process that he was saying earlier. It's not just dismantling the strongholds to defeat the enemy and then, upon getting through the fortified cities and you take over, you arrest, if you will, your enemy. You then pass judgment, and so this word punish has a degree of revenge in it, and what Paul's doing here is he's speaking of bringing defeat to your enemy, who will be judged for opposing God. And so you and I are not gonna surrender our thoughts, our minds and therefore our actions to anything that Satan is trying to throw at us, those fiery darts so you think about.
Speaker 1:In one sense it's like well, it's not a big deal if you get buzzed or if you drink with these buddies or if you do it in private, it's not as bad as you look at this. You know kind of stuff online and you can just ask for forgiveness later and just move on. It's. It's not as bad as you think, as you can be disrespectful to this person or demand these things from these people rather than serve them, and on and on you go. It's not bad that you can flirt with this person at work, as long as you know you're not going to cross the line and never quote cheat on your spouse.
Speaker 1:My friends, we are to take every thought captive meaning. It is our cap. We are not the captor of that. These are our enemies. These thoughts that go contrary to christ come from our enemy. They come from the fallenness of our flesh, right that seeks to just fulfill sinful habits and keep perpetuating that. Because the bible refers in ephesians 6, it's ever increasing wickedness. So we are not giving into the flesh, we're not giving into the enemy, we are not giving into the worldly system of these strongholds. We are giving our thoughts every single day to be captive, meaning that we are not being controlled by them, but, no, we defeated. That's why these things are captive to us.
Speaker 1:In obeying Christ, that's the power, my friends, that's the divine power. These are the weapons that we have as Christians and I pray that you're encouraged to know that and not remain defeated. So, if this has been a blessing to you and you're learning about spiritual warfare, I mean, there's so much more that I can talk about, about confronting demons and casting out demons and looking more particular at what doctrines of demons look like. I'm in the process and be praying for me right now. We're in the process of putting together some material down the road and finding the right publisher to be able to explore more about what really is spiritual warfare and questions a lot of you guys have that I want to answer biblically, theologically, apologetically and spiritually. That can really help you guys continue to stand strong in your faith. So, with that being said, my friends, I appreciate the time that we've had together in the last three episodes talking about spiritual warfare.
Speaker 1:In the next podcast, we're gonna be talking about how, now, we are to live for Christ not for applause, not for the approval of man, but in how we are to honor and praise the Lord in everything that we do. So, as always, you guys, thank you for listening. Leave praise the Lord in everything that we do. So, as always, you guys, thank you for listening. Leave us a review. Share this with your friends. Until next time, keep standing strong in your faith.